Post offices give the tubs to some businesses, but then they sometimes find their way into people’s homes.

Chicago Post Office spokesman Mark Reynolds said that in the Chicago area alone, “Probably in the thousands, once you add everything up.”

Reynolds says the post office has a two-week amnesty period: Bring the tubs and pallets back now, no questions asked.

“It make seem like your one or two pieces or your little stack here isn’t going to hurt a company as big as the Postal Service, but it does cost us money to replace it, because we are continually using that equipment,” he said.

Reynolds says it costs the Postal Service $50 million a year to replace the equipment nationwide.